Snowlock said:
1. Vertigo - 9/10. I think people got jaded by this song from over playing and the iTunes commercial. But this will be forever up there among the pantheon of great U2 songs alongside Streets and I Will Follow. Yes, Native Son was probably better, but the riff and the bridge are things of beauty.
I'm quoting your comments because I appreciate your eloquence and I agree with most of your overall sentiments. However, there are a few times where opinions differ. For example, while I completely agree with the first few comments above, I disagree with your views regarding "Native Son". I have it, I heard it and I don't think this song is anywhere near as good or as polished as "Vertigo". Nor do I think "Native Son" would have had the impact of a "Vertigo" on this album or tour. In other words, I think people over-praise "Native Son" as it's a great "what if" scenario. But had "Native Son" been released, I feel HTDAAB would have not made nearly the impact it did.
2. Miracle Drug - 5/10. This song is utterly forgettable though; Bomb's equivalent to Peace On Earth. It feels like half a song to me, lots of build up but no pay off in the chorus. With a hook, it could've been great. It falls flat. And it doesn't flow at all from Vertigo.
I would give it a bit higher score, say a 6.5, because I do like the lyrics quite a bit. But the melody and music don't match the potential of the lyrics. This is a rarity, IMO, in U2's music, but it happens.
3. Sometimes - 8/10. A little too sparse musically to rate any higher, but the raw emotion of this song is almost over powering. It is over powering if your own experience shares that of the subject matter. I can't listen to this song.
I rate this song a 6.5 - 7. Again, the lyrics are great and Bono's emotional and outstanding singing work beautifully. But this song lacks the passion I feel when I hear "One", AIWIY or WOWY. Perhaps the pain was too new at the time for Bono to express as he wanted. I often felt we heard more of that emotion for this song in concert than we did on the album. Still, this song is the equivalent to "Stuck in a Moment" to me. A good idea, but not quite there. However, I fully accept and appreciate that many like both "Stuck" and "Sometimes".
4. LAPOE - 6.5/10. Bomb's Bullet; in subject matter, tempo, and tone; but doesn't have the sonic punch that Bullet does and lacks the pop hook of SBS. Still, this should have opened the album and the tour; would've given it a much stronger impact.
This is where I disagree. I give this song a 9 - matching the power of "Vertigo". I felt it's one of the highlights of the album and one of U2's best in recent times - even surpassing songs on U2's classics, like "Bullet". I never liked "Bullet" on JT and would either skip the track or actually stopped playing JT when "Bullet" came on. I know "Bullet" turned out the way U2 wanted, but it just didn't appeal to me. I feel "Love and Peace" far better captures that sentiment and I love just about everything in the song. It was also a concert highlight for me and I hope it remains in future shows.
5. COBL - 8.5/10. Exceptional song that may stand the test of time. I'm surprised though that it didn't achieve the level live that I thought it would. I expected much more crowd participation on "Oh You Look So Beautiful Tonight". Lyrically it's kind of weak, and I'm not a huge slide guitar fan; but the vocals, non-slide parts, and rhythm section pull it off.
I disagree with your lyrical comment. Sometimes I think people expect too much from Bono's lyrics or a the lyrics in a rock/pop song. "With or Without You" has very weak lyrics, yet the song works on many levels. This is true here too. The song is lyrically stronger than many of U2's other works and the hook is fantastic. Still, you gave it a high score, and I agree. I might have gone to a 9, but it is reminiscent of "Streets" (which I'm not sure was intentional or not).
6. ABOY - 7/10. The sequel to EBTTRT. Love the guitar, hate the Who-ish hook. Live it's boring.
Love the guitar and Who-ish hook. I give it an 8 and feel it's better than EBTTRT, which I felt was a bit of a throwaway song on many levels. However, in concert, neither ABOY or EBTTRT lived up to the hype of the album, IMO. It's unfortunate too. Perhaps if U2 sped up these songs a bit when in concert, they'd click more.
7. AMAAW - 7/10. Not a favorite because I'm not that fond of this style of music. Bono's best vocal effort on the album though and Adam shines.
I give this a 5. I felt this was a bit of a useless song. Still, I'd include it on the album. Every album needs a song that's not quite as strong as others, but that some may still love. I feel this is the equivalent to "Trip through Your Wires" - the love it/hate it song of the album.
8. Crumbs - 8/10. Great song. Nothing spectacular, nothing exceptionally flashy, just a catchy rock song. Nothing wrong with that.
I like the lyrics, but musically I score it lower. More of a 7.
9. One Step Closer - 1/10. Utter waste of bandwidth.
Can't agree more here. This song, if anything, should have been the b-side to "Sometimes". Including this song on the album is what's keeping "Bomb" from the heights of some of their past "masterpieces". Had "Mercy" appeared here, the album might have been near "perfect" for me.
10. Original Of The Species - 9/10. This is a beauty and again could be up there among their best. The non over produced album version is a simple song yet in parts can provide chills like the best U2 songs can. Edge at his finest. If the lyrics had more directly focused on Edge's daughter, or at least about a girl growing into her own, it might've given it the emotional punch to get to 10/10. As it is, it's a great song.
I agree with all you wrote, except that I'd drop the score to an 8 as I don't feel it's as strong as "Vertigo" or "Love & Peace".
11. Yahweh. 8/10. This is a beautiful sweeping song. The best lyrics on the album and an excellent vocal performance. It's utterly ruined by the mix and production.
I don't hear the "mix and production" errors you state, but I love this song and felt it was one of U2's best closers in years, and that includes some of U2's masterpieces. U2 tend to close albums softly (JT, AB, ATYCLB), while "Yahweh" ends the album on a promising, hopeful, uplifting tone, which I dearly appreciated. For that reason alone, I go up to 8.5.
Overall, HTDAAB still ranks as one of my favorite U2 albums, behind AB and UF. But as you wrote in your post, you didn't really seem to care for "Zooropa" much, while I did. Which just proves that despite our relative agreement on "Bomb", we can still disagree quite a bit on other U2 albums. Hence, this makes the very point of this entire thread moot.
shaun, where've you been lately? Checking out Grandpa Axl in concert? lol.
